A Filipino relative clause links a head noun to a descriptive clause with na/-ng. When that head is understood as a conveyed theme, placed item, encoded content, instrument, or means, the relative clause must use a voice form that selects that role as pivot. English that, which, and with which do not reveal this alignment.
The useful analysis is “head noun + linker + clause with its pivot left unspoken.” The expressed actor remains ng-marked, and a recipient or destination normally remains sa-marked. See instrumental and conveyance participant marking for the complete frames.
From a Complete Clause to a Relative Clause
Start with a complete conveyance clause:
Inihatid ni Pio sa klinika ang kahon bago mag-alas-nuwebe.
Pio delivered the box to the clinic before nine o'clock.
To describe kahon, leave its pivot position unspoken inside the relative clause and attach the linker to the head:
Nasa pasilyo ang kahong inihatid ni Pio sa klinika bago mag-alas-nuwebe.
The box that Pio delivered to the clinic before nine o'clock is in the corridor.
The clause inihatid ni Pio sa klinika _ has an understood conveyed-theme pivot corresponding to kahon. Actor ni Pio and destination sa klinika keep their ordinary roles.
The Linker Has Three Surface Forms
| Head ending | Linker | Relative phrase |
|---|---|---|
| vowel | suffix -ng | sobre + -ng → sobreng ipinadala ni Rina |
| n | suffix -g | pagkain + -g → pagkaing inihatid ng kapitbahay |
| other consonant | separate na | lubid na ipinantali ni Ben |
Nasa mesa ang sobreng ipinadala ni Rina sa munisipyo kahapon.
The envelope that Rina sent to the municipal office yesterday is on the table.
Inilagay sa refrigerator ang pagkaing inihatid ng kapitbahay para sa mga bata.
The food that the neighbor delivered for the children was put in the refrigerator.
Nawala ang lubid na ipinantali ni Ben sa mga kahon sa trak.
The rope that Ben used to tie the boxes on the truck went missing.
The spelling of the linker depends only on the head's final sound. The relative verb and its role frame determine why that head can correspond to the pivot gap.
Conveyed Theme and Actor Heads Require Different Voices
Compare two heads from one delivery event:
Dumating na ang mensaherong naghatid ng gamot sa sentrong pangkalusugan.
The courier who delivered medicine to the health center has arrived. (actor head; actor voice)
Nasa kabinet ang gamot na inihatid ng mensahero sa sentrong pangkalusugan.
The medicine that the courier delivered to the health center is in the cabinet. (conveyed-theme head; conveyance voice)
In mensaherong naghatid, the missing role is the actor, so actor voice is required. In gamot na inihatid, the missing role is the theme carried to a destination, so conveyance voice is required and the actor becomes ng mensahero. English uses active delivered in both relative clauses, hiding the Filipino contrast.
This is not an active/passive alternation. The second clause retains an ordinary core actor and a destination; it simply selects the conveyed theme as pivot.
Instrument Heads
Instrumental voice lets a tool or material serve as the relative head.
Matibay pa ang kutsilyong ipinanghiwa ni Nena ng mga buko noong pista.
The knife that Nena used to cut the young coconuts during the festival is still sturdy.
The gap after ipinanghiwa is the instrument pivot corresponding to kutsilyo. Ni Nena is actor and ng mga buko the affected theme.
Itinabi ko ang telang ipinampunas ni Olan ng mga bintana.
I set aside the cloth that Olan used to wipe the windows.
Underlying ipang- + punas surfaces as ipampunas through nasal assimilation. The instrument head tela takes the vowel-final linker -ng: telang.
Not every tool can head a newly invented ipang- relative. When the derived verb is not established, use an analytic relative such as ang kagamitang ginamit ni Olan sa paglilinis “the tool Olan used for cleaning.”
The Head's Visible Marker Comes from the Main Clause
The head corresponds to a pivot gap inside the relative clause, but its visible ang, ng, or sa marker is assigned by the larger clause.
Nakita ko ang talaang isinulat ni Mara kahapon.
I saw the list that Mara wrote yesterday. (head is main-clause pivot)
Kumuha siya ng talaang isinulat ni Mara kahapon.
He or she took a list that Mara wrote yesterday. (head is main-clause non-pivot)
Sumangguni kami sa talaang isinulat ni Mara kahapon.
We consulted the list that Mara wrote yesterday. (head is main-clause oblique)
In all three, talaan corresponds to the content pivot of isinulat ni Mara kahapon _. Its external marker changes because its role in nakita, kumuha, or sumangguni changes. Do not choose the relative verb from the head's main-clause marker.
Aspect, Negation, and Questions Inside Relatives
Handa na ang mga pahinang ipapadala ng kalihim sa mga sangay bukas.
The pages that the secretary will send to the branches tomorrow are ready. (contemplated relative event)
Ipapadala presents the sending as contemplated. The future reading is supported by bukas; Filipino morphology remains aspectual rather than an English future tense.
Nasaan ang paketeng hindi iniwan ng drayber sa himpilan?
Where is the package that the driver did not leave at the station?
Negation belongs inside the relative clause. It does not alter the package's understood role as the selected placed/conveyed theme.
—Nahanap mo ba ang bolpeng ipinansulat ni Cora ng address? —Oo, nasa tabi ng telepono.
—Did you find the pen that Cora used to write the address? —Yes, it is beside the telephone.
The question concerns the whole noun phrase. Inside it, bolpen corresponds to the instrument pivot of ipinansulat. The short answer omits the pen because it is recoverable.
Register and Variation
Careful writing preserves the standard linker and full relative structure. Conversation may use yung (informal) as the external noun-phrase marker, but still requires an appropriate link: yung bolpeng ipinansulat niya. Speakers may prefer na ginamit sa pagsusulat when an ipang- derivative sounds formal, rare, or ambiguous. Both strategies are grammatical; they package the instrument differently.
Common Mistakes
Using actor voice for a conveyed-theme head
❌ Nasa pasilyo ang kahong naghatid si Pio sa klinika.
Incorrect—naghatid leaves an actor gap, not a theme gap corresponding to kahon.
✅ Nasa pasilyo ang kahong inihatid ni Pio sa klinika.
The box that Pio delivered to the clinic is in the corridor.
Marking the embedded actor with si
❌ Nasa kabinet ang gamot na inihatid si Mara sa sentro.
Incorrect—the expressed actor of this conveyance relative requires ni Mara.
✅ Nasa kabinet ang gamot na inihatid ni Mara sa sentro.
The medicine that Mara delivered to the center is in the cabinet.
Omitting the linker
❌ Itinabi ko ang tela ipinampunas ni Olan ng bintana.
Incorrect—the vowel-final head tela requires linker -ng.
✅ Itinabi ko ang telang ipinampunas ni Olan ng bintana.
I set aside the cloth that Olan used to wipe the window.
Repeating the missing pivot inside the relative clause
❌ Ito ang sobreng ipinadala ni Rina ito sa tanggapan.
Incorrect—the conveyed-theme gap should not be filled again by ito.
✅ Ito ang sobreng ipinadala ni Rina sa tanggapan.
This is the envelope that Rina sent to the office.
Key Takeaways
- A conveyance relative leaves a gap for a transferred, placed, or encoded theme selected by i- voice.
- An instrumental relative leaves a gap for the tool or means selected by an established instrumental family.
- Linker form is -ng after a vowel, -g after n, and separate na after another consonant.
- The head's main-clause marker and its relative-clause role belong to different structural levels.
- Actor marking, aspect, negation, and endpoints remain active inside the relative clause.
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Start learning Filipino →Related Topics
- Instrumental and Conveyance VoiceB1 — Use benefactive/instrumental voice patterns to select a conveyed theme, applied content, tool, material, or means as the pivot.
- Instrumental and Conveyance Voice: Participant MarkingB2 — Mark actors, conveyed themes, instruments, recipients, destinations, and affected items in i- and ipang- voice constructions.
- Patient Voice: Relative ClausesB2 — Build relative clauses whose head is the patient pivot, with the correct voice, linker, participant marking, and aspect.
- Locative Voice: Relative ClausesB2 — Build relative clauses whose head is an affected place, surface, container, destination, or addressee selected by locative voice.
- Relative Clauses: OverviewB2 — Learn how Filipino relative clauses use linkers and voice to identify a head noun without English relative pronouns.
- Linker Allomorphy: na versus -ngA2 — Choose among separate na, attached -ng, and attached -g from the final sound of the immediately preceding element.